英语新闻丨今年最强沙尘暴袭击北京

A sandstorm that originated in Mongolia on Tuesday swept through vast swaths of northern China, including Beijing and Tianjin, causing heavy pollution, reducing visibility substantially and disrupting public transportation.

3月21日，起源于蒙古的沙尘暴席卷了包括北京和天津在内的中国北方大片地区，造成严重污染，能见度大幅降低，公共交通中断。

The storm, which according to the National Meteorological Center was the strongest in China so far this year, affected several provincial-level regions. Satellite images showed that by Wednesday morning, it had covered 854,000 square kilometers, roughly twice the size of the US state of California.

据国家气象中心称，这是今年迄今为止中国最强的风暴，影响了几个省级地区。卫星图像显示，截至周三上午，它已经覆盖了85.4万平方公里，大约是美国加利福尼亚州面积的两倍。

The affected areas included the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hebei, Gansu, Shaanxi, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, besides Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. Visibility remained lower than 1,000 meters in some parts of northern China as the NMC issued a yellow alert, the lowest in the three-tier weather warning system.

受影响地区包括内蒙古自治区、河北、甘肃、陕西、辽宁、吉林和黑龙江，以及北京和天津。在中国北方部分地区，能见度仍低于1000米，国家气象中心发布了黄色预警，这是三级天气预警系统中最低的预警级别。

The level of PM10 — inhalable particles with diameters of 10 micrometers or less — increased rapidly and reached a peak concentration of 1,667 micrograms per cubic meter around 6 am on Wednesday, according to the Beijing Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center.

根据北京生态环境监测中心的数据，PM10 (直径小于等于10微米的可吸入颗粒) 的浓度迅速上升，并在3月22日早上6点左右达到了1667微克/立方米的峰值。

On days when air quality is good, the PM10 level usually remains below 150 micrograms per cubic meter.

空气质量良好时，PM10水平通常保持在每立方米150微克以下。

The Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control issued an advisory on its official WeChat account, urging people with chronic respiratory illnesses to avoid outdoor activities and recommended that commuters wear brightly colored clothes to avoid road accidents amid poor visibility.

北京市疾病预防控制中心在其官方微信公众号上发布了一份建议，敦促慢性呼吸道疾病患者避免户外活动，并建议通勤者穿颜色鲜艳的衣服，以避免在能见度低的情况下发生交通事故。

The capital's parks suspended operations of boats and cable cars to ensure the safety of visitors.

首都的公园暂停了船只和缆车的运营，以确保游客的安全。

The sandstorm will move southeast and weaken, starting from dusk on Wednesday, the NMC said, adding that the air quality in Beijing is expected to return to "a good level" after that.

国家气象中心表示，从3月22日黄昏开始，沙尘暴将向东南移动并减弱，并补充说，在那之后，北京的空气质量预计将恢复到“良好水平”。

Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, maintained an orange alert, the second-highest level in the weather warning system.

内蒙古自治区首府呼和浩特保持橙色预警，这是天气预警系统的第二高级别。

Zhang Tao, chief forecaster at the NMC, said that strong winds blowing over loose sand and soil particles create the conditions for sand and dust storms.

国家气象中心首席预报员张涛表示，强风吹过松散的沙子和土壤颗粒，为沙尘暴创造了条件。

Higher temperatures in spring loosen the topsoil, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Strong winds blowing over deserts in Mongolia, western Inner Mongolia and Gansu, carry the particles up, Zhang explained.

春季的高温会使表层土壤变松，尤其是在干旱和半干旱地区。大风吹过蒙古、内蒙古西部和甘肃的沙漠，将这些颗粒带了上来。

Since the beginning of March, China has experienced four rounds of "dusty weather", which is more than normal, the NMC's chief forecaster said. It is hard to say whether there will be more such weather conditions this spring, but the center will keep close watch in April and May, he added.

国家气象中心首席预报员表示，自3月初以来，中国已经经历了四轮“沙尘天气”，这比正常情况要多。他补充说，今年春天是否会出现更多这样的天气还很难说，但中心将在4月和5月密切关注。

Last spring, northern China had eight rounds of dusty weather. From 2000 to 2021, there were 10.7 rounds of dusty weather on average, according to the 2022 China Climate Bulletin.

去年春天，中国北方出现了8轮沙尘天气。根据《2022年中国气候公报》，从2000年到2021年，平均有10.7轮沙尘天气。

From 1981 to 2010, Beijing had an annual average of 2.4 days of dust and sandstorms in March. The capital's longest sandstorm of this century lasted for nine days.

从1981年到2010年，北京每年3月的沙尘暴天数平均为2.4天。北京本世纪持续时间最长的沙尘暴持续了9天。

Substantially

英 [səbˈstænʃəli]   美  [səbˈstænʃəli]

adv. 大量地

concentration

英 [ˌkɒns(ə)nˈtreɪʃ(ə)n]   美  [ˌkɑːns(ə)nˈtreɪʃ(ə)n]

n. 浓度